About Fluff & Feed
Fluff & Feed helps backyard flock keepers and small poultry businesses pick gear that actually fits: coops and runs, feeders and waterers, nest boxes, brooders, incubators, fencing and winter gear.
Meet Dana
Hi there, I'm Dana, and welcome to Fluff & Feed! I'm a mom of three and grandma to one beautiful granddaughter. You'll often find me out back, tending my flower and vegetable gardens. Or walking the Appalachian Trail here in Virginia's Blue Ridge. And when I'm inside? I'm probably baking.
Baking started when my kids were little. I found a sugar cookie recipe and tweaked it again and again. I worked on every detail, down to how I rolled them out. Soon friends wanted a spot on my Christmas cookie list. Now they ask for my French bread and brownies too. (I give Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, credit for the brownie recipe.)
With all that baking, I went through a lot of eggs. A friend of a friend with a backyard flock offered to share some of his. As a city girl, I wasn't sure at first. My eggs had always come from the grocery store. I was so wrong. To me, the fresh eggs were richer, with more colorful yolks. My baking came out with a fuller flavor. Even cracking them was different: more of a snap, less of a crumble. That meant fewer bits of shell in the batter. I was hooked, and that's how chickens came into my story.
Watching friends care for their hens showed me how seasonal it all is. Their hens lay fewer eggs in winter, and laying seems to follow the daylight. One friend gets up at 4:30 every morning to switch on the barn light, so the flock knows it's time to wake up and move around, hours before the sun comes up.
I don't keep chickens myself, because my HOA community doesn't allow them. That's why the first thing I tell anyone thinking about a flock is to check their HOA bylaws. One friend is allowed hens but not roosters, and had to find a new home for theirs.
Why Fluff & Feed
So many of my friends are new to backyard chickens and don't really know where to start. Google helps a little, but it means hopping between seven or eight different sources. I wanted one place where people can find what they need and link out to it, especially people who know they need something but aren't sure exactly what. Even with Amazon right there, how do you know you're getting the right thing?
Two other friends had predators get into their henhouses, and I saw how devastating that was. Nature is nature, but I want Fluff & Feed to help people protect their hens as much as possible, which is why the site has a guide to protecting chickens from predators.
If your family is planning its first hens this spring, my advice is to plan ahead. Do your research, read the guides, find out what you'll need for every step of the way, and maybe put a few items on your Christmas list. The week-by-week guide is a good place to start.
Out back, my garden was planned so something is in bloom three seasons of the year. This October the mums and zinnias are still in full bloom, and the azaleas that flower twice a year are blooming again beside dogwood leaves already turning red. I love trying new things and making people happy, and I hope Fluff & Feed does a little of that for you.
New to chickens? Start with the checklist of what you need for a first flock.
Who we are
Because we don't raise chickens ourselves, every care tip on this site comes from university extension services and other reputable sources, and we list them on each page.
Fluff & Feed is run by GrantWorks 360 Consulting, LLC, a Virginia company. We earn a commission when you buy through some of our links. Read how we earn money. Found a mistake? Tell us.